Korean Red Ginseng Supplementation May Improve the Antibody Response to COVID-19 Vaccination

by | Oct 6, 2023 | 2023, Botanicals, COVID-19, Ginseng

Written by Harold Oster, MD. Korean Red Ginseng supplementation is associated with an increased antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination.

COVID-19COVID-19 has caused considerable morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Vaccination against the virus results in a significant reduction in hospitalization and death1. While T-cell immunity is a factor in the vaccines’ effects, the level of neutralizing antibodies correlates with protection against symptomatic infection2. Supplementation with Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) has been associated with improved immune function, including an increase in white blood cells, T cells, and B cells3.

Jihyun Yoon et al. studied whether taking KRG before and after COVID-19 vaccination improves the antibody response. Five hundred thirty-four Korean subjects aged thirty years or older were recruited at the time of their first COVID-19 vaccination. All participants received three vaccinations: at enrollment, four weeks later, and sometime in the following four months. The participants were divided into two groups, KRG and control, based on whether they had taken KRG daily for at least four weeks before enrollment. The participants in the KRG group were assigned to take three grams of dried KRG in tablet form daily for four weeks after enrollment, and the control group took no KRG. All participants completed examinations at two, four, and twelve weeks after the second vaccination, and four weeks after the third vaccination. At baseline, patients were surveyed for past medical history and history of smoking and drinking alcohol. They had blood drawn for glucose, lipids, and liver function tests. At every visit, they had a brief physical examination and had blood tested for anti-neutralizing antibodies (anti-N-Ab) to COVID-19. To assess for significant differences between the two groups in anti-N-Ab over time, areas under the curve (AUCs) were calculated4.

The authors noted the following:

  • Based on inclusion criteria, including a lack of previous COVID-19 infection defined as a negative anti-nucleocapsid antibody test[1], 350 people completed the study.
  • Anti-N-Ab levels in the KRG and control groups decreased over time from the peak after the second dose of vaccine.
  • Anti-N-Ab levels increased after the third vaccine dose.
  • After adjustment for covariates, AUCs showed that Anti-N-Ab levels declined more slowly in the KRG group than in the control group for the twelve weeks after the second vaccine dose.
  • Overall, AUCs remained significantly higher for the KRG group than the control group from two weeks after the second vaccine dose through the end of the study.

Results of the study suggest that supplementation with Korean Red Ginseng is associated with improved antibody response to vaccination for COVID-19. There were several limitations. The dose of KRG taken by participants in the KGB group prior to study enrollment was not ascertained. The use of other supplements that may have affected vaccine response was assessed by self-reported questionnaires and may have been inaccurate. Despite adjustment for covariates, residual confounding may have occurred.

Source: Yoon, Jihyun, Byoungjin Park, Heejung Kim, Seungjun Choi, and Donghyuk Jung. “Korean Red Ginseng Potentially Improves Maintaining Antibodies after COVID-19 Vaccination: A 24-Week Longitudinal Study.” Nutrients 15, no. 7 (2023): 1584.

© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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Posted October 5, 2023.

Harold Oster, MD graduated from medical school in Miami, Florida in 1992 and moved to Minnesota in 2004. After more than 25 years of practicing Internal Medicine, he recently retired. Dr. Oster is especially interested in nutrition, weight management, and disease prevention. Visit his website at haroldoster.com.

References:

  1. Bellamkonda N, Lambe UP, Sawant S, Nandi SS, Chakraborty C, Shukla D. Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines. Biomedicines. Jun 21 2022;10(7)doi:10.3390/biomedicines10071464
  2. Pooley N, Abdool Karim SS, Combadière B, et al. Durability of Vaccine-Induced and Natural Immunity Against COVID-19: A Narrative Review. Infect Dis Ther. Feb 2023;12(2):367-387. doi:10.1007/s40121-022-00753-2
  3. Hyun SH, Ahn HY, Kim HJ, et al. Immuno-enhancement effects of Korean Red Ginseng in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Ginseng Res. Jan 2021;45(1):191-198. doi:10.1016/j.jgr.2020.08.003
  4. Scheff JD, Almon RR, Dubois DC, Jusko WJ, Androulakis IP. Assessment of pharmacologic area under the curve when baselines are variable. Pharm Res. May 2011;28(5):1081-9. doi:10.1007/s11095-010-0363-8